Switch to हिंदी

Health, Fitness, Beauty & Diet | Sexual Health, Pregnancy & Parenting | Diseases & Home Remedies | TheHealthSite.com

Health, Fitness, Beauty & Diet | Sexual Health, Pregnancy & Parenting | Diseases & Home Remedies | TheHealthSite.com

हिंदी
  • Fitness
    • Weight loss
    • Yoga
    • Diet
    • Healthy recipes
    • Weight training
    • Body-Mind-Soul
  • Beauty
    • Home remedies
    • Haircare
    • Hair loss
    • Skin care
    • Anti-ageing
    • Make-up
  • Diseases
    • Natural Remedies
    • Alternative medicine
    • Women’s Health
    • Stress
    • Symptoms A-Z
    • Health A-Z
    • Diseases A-Z
  • Love & Sex
    • Love and relationships
    • Sex Guide
    • Sex queries
    • Contraception
    • Sex positions
    • STDs
  • Pregnancy
    • Pregnancy week-by-week
    • Pregnancy Guide
    • Infertility
    • Conceiving
    • Labour & Delivery
  • Parenting
    • Baby Care
    • Breastfeeding
    • Children’s Health
    • Children’s Nutrition
  • News
  • Galleries
    • Fitness
    • Beauty
    • Health
    • Sex & Relationships
    • Pregnancy
  • Videos
    • Fitness
    • Beauty
    • Diseases
    • Sex & Relationships
    • Pregnancy
  • Desi Wisdom
Home / Diseases & Conditions / World Environment Day 2013: A third of global food produce doesn’t reach people!

World Environment Day 2013: A third of global food produce doesn’t reach people!

Nirmalya Dutta   | Updated: August 6, 2013 11:35 am
Tags: Food and Agriculture Oganisation  Food Security Bill  Food shortage  Food wastage  Malnutrition  World Environment Day  World Environment Day 2013  

Think-Eat-Save

June 5 is World Environment Day.

Every day we’re informed that our planet is dying, that we as a species are hurtling towards our end; our natural resources despite being bolstered by ever-changing technology are running out.  Most of us however, don’t take the doomsayers voices seriously, living in denial that the world will survive. The truth is that if we don’t shape up soon, the earth won’t be fit for inhabitation anymore.

The first World Environment Day was celebrated in 1973 to spread awareness about the environment and the need to preserve our biodiversity. Besides wiping out other species, the changing environment is wreaking havoc to our health and well-being. The theme this year is Think.Eat.Save, which is a campaign designed to minimise food loss and reduce food wastage. The major aim is to encourage people across the world not to waste food and also to realise how food production affects other natural resources and harms the environment. Saving food will help save resources and perhaps even allow those unable to afford food items access to them.

According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), 1.3 billion tonnes of food, about one-third of the global food production is either wasted or lost. Food wastage is sacrilegious in India considering, so many of us are unable to get two square meals a day. The situation is so endemic that it’s believed that every other child in India is stunted due to malnutrition.

Some stark facts about food wastage

  • 33% of all the food produce globally doesn’t reach human mouths – it’s either lost in transit or wasted by consumers.
  • Developed nations like the US and European countries throw away 222 million tonnes of edible food ever year which is almost equal to what sub-Saharan Africa consumes!
  • India loses about 21 million tonnes of wheat annually due to inadequate storage and distribution.
  • Most food is wasted by just 30% of the population who earn more than Rs 100 a month. A lot of it is wasted during various events like weddings, births, deaths and other social events and holidays.
  • This is even more shocking considering every other child in India is stunted due to malnutrition and India ranks 15th from last in the global hunger index.

How did the situation get so bad?

Despite being a country perfectly suited for agriculture we still can’t manage to feed every citizen. That some people are getting all the food they need and more is evident from the rising number of diabetes, heart disease and obesity-related cases in urban India but there remains a large segment of population (as high as 80%) who don’t have access to two square meals a day. The Food Security Bill currently waiting to be implemented will look to provide heavily subsidised food to 80% of the country’s population will look to address the issue head on. The bigger question is how is it feasible that 66 years after Independence we’re still unable to provide food to 80% of the population?

The Department of Industry Promotion and Planning (DIPP) claims that losses of farm produce every year are estimated to be over Rs 1 trillion (1,00,000 crore) per annum of which 57% percent is due to avoidable wastage and the rest due to costs of storage and commissions. One of the reasons for this there isn’t enough storing capacity. While every year 180 million metres a year of fruits, vegetables and other perishables are grown, India has only a storing capacity of 23.6 million metres in cold storage units. That means that no matter how much food we produce, we’ll never have place to store it for a long period of time.

In its study on food losses and waste, the FAO cautioned that while increasing food production is paramount to meet the future increase in final demand, ‘tensions between production and access to food can also be reduced by tapping into the potential to reduce food losses’.  The recommendation went that ‘actions shouldn’t only be directed towards isolated parts of the chain, since what is done in one part has effects in others’.

The real problem is plugging those leaks – the corruption, the hoarding, food lost in transition and the tonnes of food items that rot – remaining inaccessible to the ones who need it. Even if the Food Security Bill was passed, we would have to hope that this Rs 600,000 crore that is supposed to be spent doesn’t become part of another mega scam. Or else we would only be harming the environment and increasing the woes of our countrymen by creating even more food that will go to waste and not reach the mouths it’s supposed to feed. 

Published: June 5, 2013 3:27 pm | Updated:August 6, 2013 11:35 am
Disclaimer: TheHealthSite.com does not guarantee any specific results as a result of the procedures mentioned here and the results may vary from person to person. The topics in these pages including text, graphics, videos and other material contained on this website are for informational purposes only and not to be substituted for professional medical advice.
Jiah Khan suicide: Do glamour and depression go hand-in-hand?

Jiah Khan suicide: Do glamour and depression go hand-in-hand?

Sleeping pills - why you shouldn't use them indiscriminately

Sleeping pills - why you shouldn't use them indiscriminately

Please Wait. Article Loading ....

Related Stories

Healthy food more likely to be wasted

Healthy food more likely to be wasted

Reliance Foundation extends malnutrition programme to 16 Maharashtra districts

Reliance Foundation extends malnutrition programme to 16 Maharashtra districts

Centre to adopt state health policies

Centre to adopt state health policies

Shocking! 34% of children in UP malnourished

Shocking! 34% of children in UP malnourished

Health News in Hindi

जेपी हॉस्पिटल में 103 साल के बुजुर्ग का हिप रिप्लेसमेंट

जेपी हॉस्पिटल में 103 साल के बुजुर्ग का हिप रिप्लेसमेंट

इन रोचक तरीकों से लोगों को दें अपनी प्रेगनेंसी की गुड न्यूज़ !

इन रोचक तरीकों से लोगों को दें अपनी प्रेगनेंसी की गुड न्यूज़ !

Autism Spectrum Disorder: जब बच्चे में दिखे ये लक्षण, तो उसे नजरअंदाज करना ठीक नहीं

Autism Spectrum Disorder: जब बच्चे में दिखे ये लक्षण, तो उसे नजरअंदाज करना ठीक नहीं

गर्मियों में ज़रूर खाएं विटामिन के (K) से भरपूर ये सब्जियां

गर्मियों में ज़रूर खाएं विटामिन के (K) से भरपूर ये सब्जियां

महिलाओं को उचित मेहनताना मांगने में संकोच नहीं करना चाहिए : दीपिका पादुकोण

महिलाओं को उचित मेहनताना मांगने में संकोच नहीं करना चाहिए : दीपिका पादुकोण

Read All

About The health Site

TheHealthSite.com is India's largest health site with more than 40 lakh unique visitors per month. We focus on fitness, beauty, health, pregnancy and more.

Most popular health and wellness website in India in 2012 at the Website of the year awards.

health@corp.india.com
+91 – 22 – 6697 1234
91 – 22 – 2490 0302.

India Webportal Private Limited 135, Continental Building, Dr. Annie Basent Road, Worli, Mumbai – 400 018.

Useful Links

  • World Asthma Day
  • World Schizophrenia Day
  • Malaria Day
  • Diet
  • Skin Care
  • Thalassemia Day
  • Summer special
  • Diabetes
  • World Hypertension Day
  • Vaccination
  • Infertility
  • Workplace Wellness
  • Liver health
  • Winter care
  • Cancer
  • Mental Health
  • Depression
  • First Aid
  • HIV AIDS
  • Swine Flu
  • Cough
  • Ayurveda
  • Erectile Dysfunction
  • Healthy eating
  • Desi Wisdom
  • Healthy Food
  • Healthy Home
  • Go Natural
  • Weight Loss Tips
  • Fitness Workouts
  • Heart Health
  • Quit Smoking
  • Celebrity Fitness
  • Flat Abs
  • Workplace Wellness

Email Subscription

Enter your email id to get latest updates and latest news about health.

We respect your privacy

  • Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact Us
  • Author Profiles

Copyright © 2018 TheHealthSite